I often receive questions regarding wedding stationery etiquette and time-schedules. Wording, addressing customs and other matters are important to know before you start planning.

Here I collected some of the most frequently asked questions and my answers to them. The etiquette might differ in your country, so it´s better to check first. I hope these answers will be helpful to you. If you have any other question, let me know. I´m happy to help. 🙂

1. When to send out Save-the-Dates to guests?

Save-the-Dates are usually sent 6 months before the wedding day. In case of a destination wedding, it can be 6-12 months before the day.

Information about the wedding website is usually added to the Save-the-Date cards or invitations. Regarding other information, like the dres-code, menu-options, etc, I suggest you to add them all to a separate info-card sent together with the invitation. The best is to keep the invitation clean with only the most important information, like names, date, venue address, times, RSVP.

4. We have a lot of additional information regarding the wedding. How do we add them to the invitation?

I suggest you to have an info-card, where you collect every important information. Please try to keep it short and clear, dont´make it too long or complicated.

An additional map of the venue can be also informative, plus it´s a nice touch to the stationery.

5. We would like to have a less formal wedding. How do we communicate that to our guests?

Your Save-the-Dates / Invitations are one of the first things that your guests interact with, therefore they give the first impression of your wedding. If you plan to have a more laid-back style for the day, the design and the wording can already indicate that.

6. When should be the deadline for RSVP?

RSVP´s are usually set 4 weeks before the day.

7. If we invite someone, does it automatically mean “+1 / avec”?

No, it doesn´t. If you plan to invite only that specific guest without company, just add his / her name to the envelope.

In case it´s “ +1 Guest”, you can address it as:Your guests name “and His / her company´s name”;Your guests name “avec”,Your guests name “and family”,Your guests name “and Guest”.

8.When do we need to contact you if we would like you to design our stationery?

The sooner the better! 🙂 For Save-the-Dates and invitations made from semi-custom models, we need to start working together approximately 4-5 weeks before you plan to send them out. If it´s a custom-design made for you, then it´s 7-8 weeks.

For the wedding day stationery (program, menu, seating plan, etc) we need to start the work 4-5 weeks before the day.

Please calculate time for shipment as well.

9. Do you ship also abroad?

Yes, I do. I live and work in Helsinki, Finland but I often work with couples abroad. In that case we always need to calculate extra time and costs for shipment. This is especially important, if you live outside Europe.

Every case is different, so please let me know the details and I´ll send you information about time schedules and shipment costs.

If you are interested in more information regarding stationery etiquette, you can read one of my blog posts.

Christmas is less then a week away and the festive mood is starting to really set in. I enjoy all the buzz with the city lights and pretty decorations in the shop windows, but one my favourite parts of the preparation is the time when I can sit down with a cup of hot glög, put on Christmas songs and start wrapping the gifts. It might sound crazy, but to me it is a way to relax and I love adding a little extra touch to the bundles to make them more personal.

So, this year I made some watercolour elements with brush calligraphy texts and I used them for prepping gift tags. I chose pastel colors (surprise-surprise 🙂 ), so that the tags go well with different wrapping paper options.

And here is the thing: the tags are freebies, so you can now download them and print them at home to decorate your Christmas presents. All you need is your computer, Adobe PDF Reader, a printer, card stock paper, scissors, puncher, thread and your creativity.

Below you´ll find the link to the file. Set your printer to “fine printing”-mode (if available) to achieve nice quality and you´re ready to go!

You can add a swallowtail-cut or 45 degree-angled edges to your tags to make them more fun.

I can´t believe how fast time flies! It´s been almost a year since I first heard about the idea of this project, but it feels like it was only a few weeks ago. Now, more than 5 months after the shoot I´m so glad to see Jere Satamo´s beautiful images published in Hochzeitsguide! It really takes time for good things to happen. 😉

It was last December, when Saara from Pukuni and Satu from Aino told me about the photoshoot. I just started Willow visuals, so the opportunity to be part of this collaboration was more than an honour to me! The main concept revolved around the story of an intimate wedding celebration in the Finnish archipelago with lots of organic details. I loved it!

As the months passed by, I got a better picture about the project. The idea was to follow a simple blue / gray colour -palette for the elements. We bounced offideas about the calligraphy and stationery, but I had a free hand in making the pieces. It was so much fun and so challenging at the same time! I wanted to make something simple but elegant, something with a little twist. Usually I use a lot of watercolour in my designs, but this time I focused on different textures, like oyster shells, textile and fibrous paper.

I couldn´t be there at the photoshoot (the same day was our wedding day 🙂 ), so I was more than curious to take a little peek at the end-results. And may I say, I was completely blown away by the images! Huge thanks to the great team!

Some days ago I had a discussion with H about change. For a while we´ve been thinking about moving to a new home, so let´s put it this way, the word “change” has popped up very often in our talks nowadays. As much as we love our tiny apartment, working and living in such a small space is becoming more and more challenging. At one point he told me “…yea, in some stuff you REALLY don´t like changes!”. For a moment his words felt quite startling. Hah…you think so?! “…are you kidding?” – he asked back. It got me thinking. He is right, in some things I don´t like it, however in others my reality looks very different.

If I think about my everyday whims, like using a specific art supply, preferring one ketchup brand over another or not wearing strong colors, yes it´s true, I usually don´t change. Also, I have a hard time re-arranging the furnitures in my apartment, getting used to a new computer or saying goodbye to a friend who moves away from the country. In this sense, I admit that I´m not the most easy-going person.

On the other hand, I´m living in a constant change. In one year my world turned upside down by choosing to pursue what I really love doing. Every day I´m working on things that I truly enjoy, I get to know more and more amazing, kind and talented people and I learn all the time! True enough, there are lots of bumps on the way, it´s not all pink clouds and rainbows. I make mistakes, I try to solve situations that first seem very scary and I definitely have my share of struggle when I communicate in Finnish. I cannot even count the times I made myself (and probably my clients, but they never show) laugh because of a little word mix-up. And needless to mention all the costs of running the business that I must be able to cover. It´s a bittersweet feeling when you get a mail from your bookkeeper, saying “Yay, you did well in the last three months! You have to pay X euro taxes! Congrats!” Here comes the first heart-attack. “…and you´ll also need to pay advance taxes every month from now on…” And then the second heart attack. Yes, I´m supposed to be happy about paying my taxes! When I told about this to my Father-in-law, he just smiled and said “Welcome to the Finnish world of entrepreneurship!”

No misunderstanding, I´m not complaining. I just think that this is the part of the change, stepping out of the comfort-zone. I´m often finding myself thinking about work-stuff when I´m supposed to relax. If I get sick, there´s no-one to cover me to do the work. For sure, the way the 168h in the week looks now is totally different compared to how it was 2-3 years ago. Sometimes it´s hard and demanding, even if it´s just a small, one-person start-up company. But it´s also so exciting and fulfilling! When you feel enthusiastic, you feel like you have a reason to work. It´s a constant positive boost and I think it has an effect on every aspect of life.

I think change is good in many things, as long as it makes you happy and content. Then it´s a great adventure, even if it´s filled with rocky moments.

It´s September, one more change to the year. The day before yesterday, for the first time I felt the chilly “Autumn air” during an evening walk. I adore this month for so many reasons, yet I feel like I could still enjoy the long Summer days for a while. Now it´s time to do the finishing touches to wedding photos from the Summer, sending them to the newlyweds, it´s time to get the Winter invitations printed and prepare for the next season. I have so much to share here on the blog: photos, styled shoot experience, new designs, upcoming events etc. So more to follow!

I realise this post is somewhat different compared to the previous ones here. But maybe every once in a while I can write about more personal topics as well…

Handing over the final prints of invitation suites to my clients feels a little bit like giving gifts during Christmas time. I like preparing the package nicely, pack the cards in little piles, wrap them in tissue papers. Why not simply putting everything in a cardboard box? Because of “that moment”. I know that for many couples, receiving their wedding invitations is a special, “things are getting real” -kind of a moment. Cards are ready to be sent, envelopes are ready to be addressed, names are written next to each other telling that the couple is getting married. Unwrapping is part of the experience and I think it´s more fun and memorable if it´s a nice wrap.

Last week I gave away some of these packages to clients, who opened them right in front of me. On the way back home I started thinking. Preparing these delivery boxes is not something I “have to do”, but it´s something definitely worth doing. I know that it´s the content that matters, but if I can make it any better by a personalised package, than I´m all for it! When I see my clients all excited and smiling while unwrapping the bundles, that´s just the best. 😉

One of the things I really love about my job is to be part of amazing styled projects. There is a certain positive vibe in the air, when creative people work together and share their passion and love for beautiful weddings. When everyone gives their 100%, it isn´t just about image making. It is storytelling, something that you can relate to.

I know, I start sounding like such a cliche for getting excited about every little detail, but what can I do? 🙂 I´m an addict to pretty things, a fan of everything natural and a hopeless visual enthusiast.

Today I wanted to show you the outcome of one of these projects, one with a story that melts my heart, one with a special meaning. Let me share here some memories of Susanna´s and Johanna´s photoshoot.

Our location was a lovely countryside cottage close to Helsinki with that adorable rustic charm. I loved how the details complemented each other perfectly, the pretty tulle and lace gowns with the gorgeous jewellery (my personal favourite is the rose-gold ring 😉 ), the tableware with the fresh green and white flowers and the adorable lemon-ginger cake. For this occasion, I prepared a simple stationery set, featuring dusty-green eucalyptus leaf and flower illustrations. The brides’ story about how they met and about the details of the shoot is published on Häät.fi. Click on the link to read about it. 🙂

The photoshoot was organised back in March, but I felt that sharing the memories of Susanna´s and Johanna´s day has current apropos. It´s Pride Week in Helsinki, celebrating love, equality and human rights.

One of the best part of wedding decoration is the table setting. I love every bit of it, the cutlery, the tablecloth, the candles and the gorgeous flowers. It´s like all the creative work you invested into the wedding planning is right there at one place. In this post I collected some of my favourite ideas for table settings.

Name tags / seating cards

Playing around with place card ideas is fun and it can be a great DIY-project. Writing the names of your guests one by one might take a little bit longer time, but it definitely gives a personal touch for the set-up. If your tables are small or you simply prefer the cleaner looks, you can substitute the seating cards with one main seating plan at the entrance of the reception.

I´m often asked about the the menu and program cards. How many pieces do you need on one table? Should there be one for each guest? I think it´s up to you. You can choose to have one menu card for each guest, in which case you can make a nice composition with a napkin fold, some twine and flower.

The other way to go is to have just a few cards on the table. Usually one menu and one program card is enough for a table of four. For a table of ten, two or three of each cards will be sufficient. I think it´s up to your budget and the style of the set-up.

In addition to flower arrangements and other decoration elements, table numbers or table names play an important part of the set-up. Just like in case of the name cards, making these decor elements can be also part of a DIY-project. You can use a photo-frame, a chalkboard or even wine bottle corks.

Today I take a little break from papers and talk about a solution that can complement printed material for your wedding. It´s wedding websites.

Even though, I´m now endorsing something that is a cost-saving substitution of what I do for a living, I believe that these websites are so helpful, that it would be silly to ignore them.

I can start with my own experience. When H & I started organising our own destination wedding, we quickly had to face reality: it´s an immense work to put every detail together. We wanted to keep things simple, yet the more we talked about the wedding, the longer the “things to consider”-list became. Accommodation, travel guide, food options, traditions, local tourist info, registry, etc. Putting everything on paper would have meant writing an actual booklet for our guests. It just did not make sense for so many reasons. That is why we decided to make a wedding website, complementing the basic and formal invitations. And I´m just so happy we did.

Here are the reasons why I think it´s a good idea to make a wedding website:

Every information in one place

I have already mentioned earlier, but it is true: when everything is in one place, it´s easier for your guests and for you too. No invitation is left home, no map is tossed aside, no travel information gets lost. If you feel you forgot something out of the details, you can always add it there.

Convenient for the guests

Because of the fact that there are no limitations to a website, you can make it a little bit more informative to your guests. For example a page about you as a couple with some pictures make the whole site more personal and fun. In our case for example, we added there a section about the country and town. We thought that a little info about public transportation, tips at restaurants and some local “fun-facts” can be interesting.

Saving time and effort

What if you need to change plans? There might be a modification in the time-schedule or an actual change in venues one month before the wedding (Yes, it actually happened to a friend). I can picture it as a nightmare coming true. The closer you get to the date, the more details need to be cleared up and sealed. On the way to the event, there can be unpleasant surprises and you need to be prepared how to handle them the fastest and most efficient way. So far, I think the website is your best choice.

The “weight-off-your-shoulders”-functions

If, for no other reason, the website is needed for these functions. These are the RSVP, menu-choice (if it´s a seated dinner) and registry information for instance. Most of the website providers add these functions and you can fully customise them. To us, having these extra pages made the whole organisation process easier. Keeping the RSVP or the information about menu choices up-to-date is a huge help.

Cost-saving

Most of the fully customisable websites can fit everyone´s budget. If you think about it, their price is approximately equivalent to the price of envelopes and stamps for your invitations, or even less. In some cases they are for free.

So, if you consider having a website, which one to choose? Here are some examples that H & I had a look at, before we made our choice. I think that most of them offer the same options and there is no big difference in prices. Probably the decisive point is the layout and your own taste. After some consideration we picked weddingwoo.com. For us it seemed to work the best, we really liked the layout options and the user-friendly interface of the site. Yet again, this was our choice, I´m sure you´ll find the one you like the most. 🙂

I think that digital doesn´t necessarily substitute the formal paper invitations. You might also think that setting the website up takes time too. These are all good arguments. However, if for nothing else, it´s good to consider having it. 😉

Finding inspiration is maybe the most challenging part of designing your invites. Wedding blogs, magazines and Pinterest are for sure very helpful. On the other hand, the more you check, the more you like and the more you like, the harder the choice is. 😉

So, as my second post in the “wedding papers”-topic, I collected some tips for you about inspiration, ideas and themes. Hopefully they help you kick-off the project.

The theme of the wedding

Probably you are in the easiest position if you already have a wedding theme in mind. Nowadays it´s a trend to organise the big day around one theme, like French country-style, vintage, organic or bohemian. In these cases, I would suggest to pick two or three little elements that best represent the main idea. For example, in case of a nautical beach wedding, navy blue color, a boat or a compass illustration could communicate the subject very well.

If the venue has a special place in your heart, show it also on your invites. An illustration of a romantic old chapel, a greenhouse or a nice barn can make your stationery very unique and personal.

The season

Seasonal colors and flowers are always safe ideas and they can be easily incorporated in the paper design. I collected here some of Pantone´s color picks for 2016. For Winter wedding inspiration here is one of my older posts.

I think that above all, you should choose a design that represents you as a couple. It may be a memory you share, an important place or a hobby you have in common. When you focus on these details, you can create authentic and meaningful designs.

Let´s start from the beginning: Congratulations! 🙂 You are preparing for one of the most profound and beautiful experiences of your lives surrounded by your beloved ones. You have the date, booked the dream-venue and probably you have started the search for The Gown. So it is very soon time to think about the invitations. But actually, where to start? What are the elements of the stationery suite?

Honestly I would say that there are no exact rules or right answers to this question. Every wedding is different, so every suite will be different. However, it usually includes a primary invitation asking your guests to attend the wedding. I am often asked what to include in the text. I praise the idea of keeping everything “clean” and simple with only the most important details:

names: full or only first names

date

place and time of the ceremony

place and time of the reception

RSVP-date

Before you start creating the text, there are some things worth considering. Are you planning to have a more formal, traditional wedding or is it going to be more laid-back? I think that the way you form the text with the outlook of the invitation already sets a certain tone for the wedding.

Save the date

In some cases invitations are preceded by save-the-date cards. When you´re organising a destination wedding or you´re marrying during a high-travel time, it´s a great idea to inform your guests in this form. This way they can be prepared well ahead, so there is a higher chance they can actually make it to your day.

You can add enclosures to the invitation. Of course the amount and type of cards depend on the special details of the day.

RSVP-card with return envelope:

It is a more traditional way of asking the favour of response from your guests. This is usually a small card attached to the invitation with a response envelope. It is a very elegant solution, but it is maybe more common in the US than in Finland.

Instead of sending RSVP-cards, a popular solution nowadays is setting up an RSVP-function on your wedding website. (More about the website in another post.) But without doubt, the RSVP-card adds a nice touch to the suite. 🙂

General information card:

You can call it in many ways and you can attach really as many as you want to the invitation. Usually they include information about:

details of venue

food options

dress code

accommodation

directions

etc…

It is good to share information that is otherwise not obvious. You can save yourselves a lot of time and probably hundreds of phone-calls / emails if you chose to have these enclosures.

However, I suggest you to have just as many extra cards as it is really necessary. I believe that too much information can be overwhelming for the guests. Here again, if you have a wedding website, you can significantly reduce the amount of prints. Of course sending these cards is a very respectful solution towards guests who are less likely to use computers in general.

If you are super prepared and organised, you can also add here the schedule of the day. On the other hand, handling out the program on the actual wedding day is quite enough and for sure your guests will not accidentally leave it at home.

A popular – and personally my favourite 🙂 – enclosure is the wedding map. Usually these little graphics are hand-drawn and they add a twist to the suite. They can present for example the direction from the ceremony to the venue, the road from the airport to city center or even different stations at the reception (cocktail-bar, dance-floor, photo booth, etc). I love the handmade feeling of these maps and I can spend a long time admiring the little details on them. They make the whole package fun and very personal. 🙂

To sum it up…

If you´re into delicate and lovely details, you´ll most likely care about the papers and colors you chose for your wedding. One thing is for sure. Your stationery is going to be one of the first things your guests interact with. It´s a beautiful and tangible way to communicate the significance of what you´re celebrating. And it is a keepsake of the day not only for you but maybe for your guests as well. That is why I suggest you to take a little time to think about it, to be creative about it and to make it special. 🙂